As summer transitions to fall and the giving season approaches, Visual Arts and Ceramics students at the Community School of Davidson (CSD) put down their drawing pencils and set aside their easels to begin a centralized project that has become an annual tradition.

For a six week period ending with Halloween, the entire department comes together as ceramicists to mold, fire and paint pumpkins and ghosts which will be left on the porches of some of the schools surrounding neighbors. When the CSD kiln finally cools for the last time, there will be nearly 150 original works of art ready to find their new homes in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s a sweet way to show them our humanity,” said student artist, Emma Nowak (‘26).

The original idea for the project came about three years ago when the “Fall Community Outreach” as a CSD spirit initiative started post-COVID.

When students returned to full-time, in person learning, unsurprisingly, the combination of loud cars dropping off bustling students, a few less parking spaces available for the upper school’s surrounding neighborhood and the resulting influx of morning arrival and afternoon dismissal traffic didn’t thrill neighbors.

CSD’s Visual Arts teachers, Ms. Jessica Jones and Ms. Miki Kato-Starr, knew something needed to be done to promote better feelings and build community.

“[T]he return to in-person school was an exciting time for students, faculty and staff. However, our neighbors weren’t as thrilled to lose the peace and quiet of their streets,” Ms. Miki Kato-Starr said. “As the art team, we wanted to express our respect and gratitude for their understanding. Our gesture was to quietly leave beautifully painted pumpkins at their door steps created by CSD students, as a symbol of our appreciation and acknowledgment.”

For the first two years, the students gave as gifts real pumpkins that they had painted but the logistics of gathering, painting and distributing the real pumpkins while they were still fresh presented a challenge. For fall 2024, teachers and students made the decision to switch to ceramic pieces to extend their impact and decrease the mess they could possibly cause.

This year, Ceramics students, led by teacher Caitlyn Gomez, came to the Visual Arts classes to mentor and guide students in crafting and their own ceramic pumpkins.

The responses from students about this year’s version of the project have been very positive. Whether it’s having fun crafting or the excitement of being able to physically give back, many students are happy to be part of this project.

“It feels good knowing that you are doing nice things for people just because you can,” student artist Mary Anne Byrd (‘26) said.

“My favorite part is getting to make the ghosts and stuff, all of them look really cool and you can add stuff like hats,” student artist Jack Sullivan (‘25) said.

The project’s effects go further than just issuing the pumpkins. The bigger idea of the project as a whole is to teach the students about the importance of giving.

By learning about the meaning of giving through the creative process, students are able to give back in a fun way while also learning how important of a bridge the project is in the relationship between the school and the community.

“Through this project, we want students to learn the value of patience, attention to detail and how art can be a form of communication and connection,” Kato-Starr said. “Ultimately, we hope they take away a deeper appreciation for the creative process and the positive impact it can have on the community.”

Through making the pumpkins and learning to give them away with a positive attitude behind it, the Visual Arts community brings together physical beauty and emotional kindness.

“[They are] actually giving to the community and giving a part of themselves with their creativity,” Ms. Jessica Jones said.

“By using art as a gesture of gratitude, students can learn how small, meaningful actions can foster understanding and strengthen community relationships,” Kato-Starr said.

Every year, the feedback from neighbors is kindhearted, which helps to reduce and diminish the occasional tensions.

“Each year Ms. Miki receives emails from neighbors who are really touched by the pumpkins. Breaking the tension between us and them is necessary for a good environment. [The project] shows them that instead of living around each other we can exist together,” Nowak said.

It is also important to remember that this spirit of giving is important no matter the time of year. Mentally putting yourself into other people’s shoes can be a good way of being an active and mindful member of the community.

“By doing a project like this you aren’t just doing a nice deed, you are building a stronger relationship with the community around you,” Byrd said.

The end of October is just over the horizon and when the Visual Arts and Ceramics students deliver their final products to the school’s neighbors, their ceramic visions, made with love and that special ingredient of giving, will find new homes.

And along the way, with every pumpkin delivered to a front door or left on a porch, that CSD spirit, as well as that feeling of giving, becomes stronger.

Can ceramic pumpkins build a community?

When they are made with love, absolutely.